tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post5350862303759532529..comments2024-02-17T04:06:00.805-05:00Comments on Just Not Said: Chuck Berry, multitasking John Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08729625146043379286noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-72513142028076813032017-04-19T01:42:23.630-04:002017-04-19T01:42:23.630-04:00Anon --
Is that right? I read the Wiki bio pretty ...Anon --<br />Is that right? I read the Wiki bio pretty carefully and it did say the he had formed a partnership with his pianist Johnny Johnson, but it didn't really specify who wrote the music. And I read a couple other accounts, too, which just said that Berry "wrote" various songs, though I suppose it's possible they were just referring to the lyrics. Anyway, sounds like you're better informed than I am. John Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08729625146043379286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-69960840628840746932017-04-18T23:47:03.405-04:002017-04-18T23:47:03.405-04:00Except he didn't write the music to any of his...Except he didn't write the music to any of his songs. He wrote the lyrics, which is impressive enough, but another black blues musician, Johnny Johnson, wrote all the melodies.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-1995743761466602652017-03-27T06:35:31.430-04:002017-03-27T06:35:31.430-04:00Sherie --
I actually thought My Ding-A-Ling was on...Sherie --<br />I actually thought My Ding-A-Ling was one of his worst songs, even if it was his only number one hit. He had a lot of catchy tunes, but that wasn't one of them. And while as performer he WAS much less vulgar than today's hip hop crowd, in his personal life he was such an incredible pervert that lack of vulgarity is not the first thing that would come to mind to compliment him on. I can't vouch for the accuracy of all of this article, but I know at least some of it is true:<br /><br />https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/the-perversions-of-chuck-berry-876109-v20n9<br /><br />On the other hand, he was a great musician and a great performer. The videos of his performances when he was young show him as a multitalented force of nature, as I described in the post. And he was extremely expressive, and did, as you say, have a way of sort of winking and letting the audience in on the real meaning of his songs without quite crossing the line.<br /><br />My personal favorite song of his was "C'est la Vie" (also known as "You Never Can Tell.")John Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08729625146043379286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-70579031410080600202017-03-27T02:45:20.779-04:002017-03-27T02:45:20.779-04:00Chuck Berry was really classy in comparison to mos...Chuck Berry was really classy in comparison to most today's performers. I enjoyed Watching him sing My Ding-A-Ling (1972) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaEC-lWSlmI,<br />full of naughty innuendos along with superb mimicry could not help smiling for a long time. That's what makes a great performer, the memory lingers. Most of today's singers just seem to crudely jump around, vulgarly shaking all they've got.<br /><br />SherieAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com